Is your beloved parlor on the cheese-laden list?

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Michael's Pizzeria in Long Beach is one of Zagat's top LA pizza picks. The list debuted at the end of September with a shout-out for a half dozen SoCal pizza restaurants.

Updated at 12:42 PM PDT on Monday, Oct 7, 2013

There are are and have always been two running and possibly unsolvable debates when it comes to going out in a group for pizza.

Well, three, if you count "should we sit next to the jukebox, foosball table, or near the wood-burning oven"? (Foosball table, of course.)

But the two main debates are as follows. One: What topping combination will satisfy those eating the pizza, and can a satisfactory compromise be reached in under five minutes of heated discussion? And two: Is air, water, or love more important when it comes to that ideal dough?

Ask Zagat. The go-to culinary smarties have pondered timeless questions such as these since Tim and Nina Zagat founded the review-and-rating powerhouse in New York City at the close of the 1970s.

And the wand of Zagatian excellence has now lightly touched a few Southern California pizza places. So, who makes the best pizza in Los Angeles, according to the big Z? Vito's, Pizzeria Mozza, Michael's Pizzeria, Gjelina, and Mozza to Go all ranked super-way-up-high.

Well done, all. We'd clap, heartily, but we're currently moving some mushrooms and olives to the slice we're devouring, because when we pulled it off all the cheese went with it, so now we have to reconstruct the exact slice we desired. That's allowed, right, in the pizza rulebook? Slice-topping manipulation?

We must now return to our main point: Pizza is serious business, from what makes an airy crust to the quality of toppings. Meaning this: Every local pizza destination on the Zagat list should be very proud, indeed.

May they all toss a spinning disc of dough in the air, in unison, to celebrate the cheese-rich, pepperoni-perfect, "do-you-want-that-last-slice?" news.